Northern Irishman says it is 'right decision' for him to represent Irish
rather than Britain having played as an amateur for them as a boy

The agonising is finally over – Rory McIlroy will represent Ireland at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and not, as he hinted two years ago, take up the opportunity to play for Team GB.

McIlroy’s announcement was well timed, coming on the eve of the Irish Open at Fota Island in Cork, where he appears in the first round today. Breaking press-room protocol, the Irish media applauded when McIlroy, appropriately decked in a green polo shirt, revealed his decision. Like the golfer, they had probably become fed up with the subject, which had dominated the Olympic golf agenda since the sport was readmitted to the Games five years ago.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” McIlroy said. “I don’t know whether it’s been because the World Cup has been in Brazil and I’ve been thinking a couple of years down the line. I won great amateur titles representing Ireland and I kept thinking, 'Why change that?’ I was always very proud to put on the Irish uniform and I would be very proud to do it again.”

Asked if he had been “torn” on the issue, McIlroy replied: “More worried about what other people would think. But you’ve got to do what’s right for yourself and what you feel most comfortable with, and ultimately that was the decision that I made.”

This was a decision plainly made out of emotion, made out of the knowledge what it would have meant to the normal Irish golf fan if he had selected Team GB.

There were three options as far as McIlroy was concerned: Ireland, Team GB... or to skip the Olympics. But in the end he was convinced by those who wanted him the most. It meant so much more to Ireland than to the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Stacy Lewis, the world No 1, has questioned whether an 11-year-old should be playing in the US Women’s Open, which starts today at Pinehurst, saying if Lucy Li was her child she would not have let her try to qualify.

The Californian schoolgirl last month became the youngest to qualify for a major. But Lewis said: “You qualify for an Open at 11, what do you do next? If it was my kid, I wouldn’t let her play in the US Open qualifier at 11, but that’s just me.”